Restoring the Order of Nuns to
the Theravaadin Tradition

Senarat
Wijayasundara

Followers
of the Buddha's teachings consist of four components: monks, nuns,
laymen, and laywomen. Of the two major Buddhist traditions, Mahaayaana
and Theravaada, Mahaayaana alone has all four of these
components extant. For a number of reasons, including a series of
invasions in Sri Lanka, the Theravaadin tradition lost its
Order of nuns sometime after the 10th century. This puts women in Theravaadin
societies at a spiritual disadvantage through no fault of their
own. One may legitimately question why steps have not been taken over
the last nine hundred years to restore the Order to its rightful place.

The origin of the Bhikkhunii
Sa"ngha is documented in the Paali canon [1].
Permission to enter the Order for nuns was won with much difficulty
thanks to the skilful diplomacy of the monk Aananda who
appealed to the Buddha on behalf of Mahaapajaapatii [2] and her
companions. The position of the Buddha in this matter requires
investigation. In her book, Women under Primitive Buddhism, I. B. Homer
states, "I hope to show that [the Buddha] did not, as is
usually said of him, grudge women entry into the Order, but his
compassion for the many folk included, from the beginning, women as well
as men and animals. He saw the potentially good, the potentially
spiritual in them as clearly as he saw it in man. Hence, were their life
spent in the world or in the religious community, he spared himself no
trouble to show them the way to happiness, to salvation a way which they
might train themselves to follow by self-mastery." [3]

Aananda was later criticized
for having prevailed upon the Buddha for the establishment of the Bhikkhunii
Sa"ngha, [4] although the Order appears to have functioned
successfully. At the Third Buddhist Council held in India in the third
century B.C.E., it was decided to dispatch nine missions abroad to
spread Buddhism.[5] One mission, headed by Mahinda, son of
Emperor Asoka of India, reached Sri Lanka. The tremendous
success it achieved was such that within a short time there was a
request from a group of five hundred women, led by Anula, to
join the order. Mahinda's sister Sa"nghamittaa was invited
to Sri Lanka to initiate the Bhikkhunii Sa"ngha. Both Bhikkhu
and Bhikkhunii Sa"nghas grew quickly in strength and
popularity.

By the turn of the tenth century,
however, Buddhism in Sri Lanka was being seriously affected by internal
political conflicts and foreign invasions, during which the monastic
orders disappeared. Eventually a king named Vijayabahu was able
to establish law and order in the country and became keen to revive
Buddhism from the pathetic state to which it had fallen. Realizing that
no members of the Bhikkhu Sa"ngha remained, he sought
assistance from Burma to restore the order of monks, [6] but there is no
mention of reviving the order of nuns.[7] If monks suffered so
extensively that their order became extinct, there can be little doubt
about the plight of the order of nuns. There is no record that the king
tried to revive it.

Even though the Bhikkhunii
Sa"ngha disappeared in Sri Lanka, Buddhist women remained
earnest in their quest for spiritual awakening. Rather unusual steps
have been taken by women in Thailand [8] and Sri Lanka.[9] In Thailand
several groups of women have come forward who wish to practice religion
with an earnestness beyond that common among laywomen. The status of one
group, the maejis, is far from satisfactory. Another group of
women, known as silacarinis, began in 1957 with the ordination
of five women who observe ten precepts. They have a nunnery centered in
Bangkok and wear brown robes. Another group wearing dark brown robes
live under the guidance of a self-ordained monk, Bodhiraksa,
who initiated the ordination lineage himself. Yet another group is
headed by Bhikkhunii Voramai Kabilsingh who began as a maeji,
but later received full ordination in Taiwan. Members of this group wear
light yellow robes. I believe that this group will have the best
opportunity of meeting the needs of Buddhist women who choose to lead a
life of renunciation.

In Sri Lanka a movement known as Dasasilmaataa
can be traced to the pioneering efforts of Sudhammacari
(1885-1937). Born into a Christian family in Bentota, Catherine de Alwis
Gunatilaka became interested in Buddhism and wished to become a nun. As
there were no nuns in Sri Lanka and no monk would administer the ten
precepts, she went to Burma (Myanmar) where she underwent training and
was given ordination by Daw Ni Chari. She received the name Sudhammacari
at ordination and founded the Lady Blake Nunnery at Katukele (Kandy)
when she returned to Sri Lanka in 1903. Many women from various parts of
the country came to her to receive the precepts

From there the number of Dasasilmaataa
grew. These women now command respect from the lay community and receive
assistance from the Buddha Sangha Ministry of the Government of Sri
Lanka for their educational and material needs. Some of them are
satisfied with the traditional ten precepts, but many are hopeful of
becoming fully ordained nuns, either within or outside of the Theravadin
tradition.

Many heads of the nikaayas
(monastic orders) in Sri Lanka oppose ordination for nuns and maintain
that it cannot be granted within the Theravadin tradition of Vinaya.
Moreover, they oppose nuns receiving ordination from any other Buddhist
tradition. Fortunately some other leading members of the Sa"ngha
are of the opinion that Sri Lankan women may legitimately receive
ordination from countries like China, Korea, or Taiwan where the lineage
has been maintained without a break.[10] Considerable numbers of laymen
and laywomen also favor such a step and support this cause.

Opposition to the revival of an order of
Buddhist nuns seems to run counter the spirit as well as the religious
aims of Buddhism. Two significant statements found in two authoritative
suttas indicate how important the presence of nuns is in Buddhism and
how much is lost in their absence. The first statement occurs in a
relevant discussion between the Buddha and a wanderer, Vacchagotta.[11]
In this discussion the Buddha affirms that all six components of
Buddhist society named by Vacchagotta are expected to realize
their ideals. These six components are: monks, nuns, celibate laymen,
celibate laywomen, ordinary laymen, and ordinary laywomen. In another
text, in a discussion with Mara, the Buddha is reminded of his
commitment not to pass away until the four components of a Buddhist
society, namely monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen, became eligible for nibbaana
by cultivating the necessary qualities.[12]

Although in the Theravaada
tradition women who aspire to be nuns are prevented by historical
circumstances from receiving ordination, their counterparts in the Mahaayaana
tradition fortunately are not. Therefore it is possible to overcome
these obstacles by turning to the nuns of the Mahaayaana
countries.

Historians believe that Buddhism reached
China around the first century C.E. [13], Pao-Chang gives an account of
the early beginnings of the order of nuns in China.[14] Given the
extreme hardships of travel either over the Himalayas or through the
deserts Central Asia, it was difficult for an order of monks to become
established in China; how much more difficult it would have been for
nuns to survive the journey and establish an order there. Eventually, it
was by the sea route from Sri Lanka that the Bhikkhunii Sa"ngha
reached China in the fifth century.

Soon after Buddhism arrival in China, a
number of Chinese women became interested in becoming nuns. There appear
to have been many discussions on the ordination of women among the
Buddhists in China prior to the establishment of a bhikkhunii
order. Some maintained that the establishment of an order was not
possible without the participation of nuns in the ordination ceremony.
Others were of the opinion that it was possible for Chinese women to
receive only the initial, novice (saamanerii) ordination.
Others believed that the Vinaya rules for full ordination could be
interpreted to permit monks to grant ordination to women in spite of the
absence of ordained nuns.[15] This seemingly unresolvable problem was
vexing to unimaginative minds. Finally, the problem of full ordination
for women was referred to Gunavannan of Kashmir by Hui Kuo, the
woman who was to become the first Chinese bhikkhunii, herself
an expert in Vinaya.[16] When she asked him whether it was legitimate
for women to receive full ordination without the participation of nuns, Gunavarman
responded by saying that there would be nothing wrong with such an
ordination. When she asked whether it would be wrong for monks to grant bhikkhunii
ordination to women without the participation of nuns, he replied that
there would be no fault on the part of the monks if they did so. He
explained that monks would be deemed at fault only if they gave bhikkhunii
ordination without nuns when nuns were available to participate. Since
there were no nuns in China at the time, there would be nothing wrong
with such an ordination. This was a wise solution that was within the
limits of Vinaya.

But Gunavarman, an intelligent
and ardent propagator of Buddhism, did not stop there. He worked to get
a sufficient number of nuns to perform the full ordination. In 429 C.E.,
eight nuns from Sri Lanka arrived in China, but were deemed insufficient
in number to perform an ideal dual ordination.[17] Therefore another
group of nuns, eleven in number and headed by Devasara, was
brought from Sri Lanka and reached China in 432 C.E.[18] Prior to his
death, Gunavarman thoughtfully left instructions for performing
the dual ordination with a Sinhala monk, Sa"nghavarman,
who completely fulfilled the instructions.[19] The two groups of nuns
who had arrived in China from Sri Lanka conferred the dual ordination of
nuns for the first time in China. It is said that at that time, "more
than 300 Chinese nuns received full ordination from Sinhala
Bhikkhuniis" [20]. Strangely enough, no Sri Lankan chronicle
mentions this important event. It comes to us only from Chinese sources.

The Bhikkhunii Sa"ngha became
firmly rooted in China and gradually spread through neighboring
countries, such as Korea and Vietnam. In 1992, at a well-attended
ceremony held to bid farewell to a group of five Chinese monks who had
completed their education in Sri Lanka, Prof. W. Rahula referred to the
regrettable lack of fully ordained Theravaadin nuns. He suggested that
Sri Lankan dasasilmaataas could receive their full ordination
from one of these countries.[21]

The two suttas discussed earlier show
that the disappearance of the nuns' component disable the Theravaadin
tradition. Dr. Senarat Paranavitana has asserted that without the Bhikkhunii
Sa"ngha, the present-day Bhikkhu Sa"ngha in Sri
Lanka, cannot be called a Mahaasa"ngha (great order). In
addition, the inability of the Theravaadin tradition to meet
the legitimate demands of women to practice Buddhism equally makes it
vulnerable to criticism. Therefore, it is imperative for the Theravaadin
tradition to meet this serious challenge and open its doors to nuns.

The following are possible ways to
achieve this aim. The first three possibilities were presented by Prof.
G. P. M. Malalasekara, founder of the World Fellowship of Buddhists
(WFB), when he called or the restoration of the order of Buddhist nuns.
His contributions to this effort, have appeared as far back as 1934 in
the Ceylon Daily News.[22] He puts forth six recommendations.

First, according to the
Mahaaparinibbaana Sutta, the Buddha, when lying on his death
bed, is said to have told his attendant Aananda that the Sa"ngha
was permitted to abolish lesser and minor rules.[23] Malalasekara says
"That, then, is the first possibility - a decision by a
representative assembly of the Sa"ngha to dispense with
the traditional ceremonial in the ordination of nuns."[24] Making
use of the Buddha's final concession, it is within the power of the Bhikkhu
Sa"ngha to make the necessary amendments to restore the Bhikkhunii
Sa"ngha by performing an ordination without, the participation
of nuns. If any monk believes that the rules pertaining to the
ordination of nuns are of major concern and do not fall within the
category of "lesser and minor rules," he would be invited to
come forth and justify his position.

Second, it. is possible
to make use of an injunction issued by the Buddha that stipulates, "I
permit you monks, to confer full ordination on nuns."[25]
There are references in the texts that show that some regulations were
amended, altered, or abrogated by the Buddha himself on various
occasions under special circumstances. The absence of Bhikkhuniis
in Theravaada clearly being a special circumstance, these
textual references should be sufficient cause for granting monks the
authority to ordain nuns with a clear conscience that no transgression
of the Vinaya rules has been committed. Those who oppose the restoration
of the Bhikkhunii Sa"ngha on the grounds of Vinaya
technicalities seem to ignore this relevant injunction.

Third, certain special
procedures have been performed in Buddhist history, such as when Mahaapajaapatii
Gotami and her companions took the precepts before the Bhikkhunii
Sa"ngha had been instituted. The ordination of Buddhist monks
nuns essentially consists of followers taking upon themselves
voluntarily the observance of certain precepts. Ordination is not
something that is transmitted from one person to another; rather, it is
certain precepts that one undertakes to keep and observe in accordance
with one's own motivation. Buddhist ordination is essentially different
from the ordination of priests found in other religions, where priests
are regarded as intercessors between human beings and a divine power. In
the Buddhist context, there is not relegation of authority, no question
of acting earth as a divine ministrant. Just as Buddhist lay-people in
Sri Lanka undertake to observe the eight or ten precepts on poya days by
reciting the precepts at a shrine, there is nothing to prevent women
from observing the precepts of novice or full ordination. There cannot
be any serious objection to this type of self-ordination.[26]

If any one of the above suggestions by
Prof. Malalasekera is accepted, it would be possible to restore the Bhikkhunii
Sa"ngha within the Theravaadin tradition. What is
required is an understanding of the spirit, rather than the letter, of
the Vinaya regulations. There are three further options available for
the restoration the Bhikkhunii Sa"ngha which have come to
light because of the public discussions and debates that have taken
place on this issue in Sri Lanka, particularly in the past ten
years.[27]

Fourth, due to improved
relations and closer contact with China, Korea, and Taiwan, in recent
years, it became known that the Bhikkhunii Sa"ngha
transmitted to China by Sinhalese nuns continues in these countries in
an unbroken succession. Therefore it is possible to reintroduce the Bhikkhunii
Sa"ngha to Sri Lanka from one of these three countries (or
Vietnam), either by bringing chapter of nuns to Sri Lanka or by sending
a group of applicants to those countries to be ordained. Sending
applicants to one of these countries is a better approach, since they
would have the opportunity to undergo training there. This proposed step
is not as drastic as some would make it out to be. It is merely the
receiving back of the Bhikkhunii Sa"ngha that was earlier
sent from Sri Lanka to China. It would be like accepting back the great
gift that was given in earlier times.

There are precedents for this proposed
reintroduction. In the latter part of the eighteenth century, a
delegation from Thailand was invited to Sri Lanka to reestablish the Bhikkhu
Sa"ngha and began the Siam Nikaaya.[28] In the
nineteenth century, two separate groups of monks went to monasteries in
Amarapura and Ramanna in Burma and received full ordination there. On
their return, they founded the Amarapura sect in 1803[29] and the
Ramanna sect in 1864.[30] It is also well known that Sri Lanka has been
instrumental at times in reviving and reorganizing Buddhism in Thailand
and Burma. Therefore, there can be no legitimate objection to seeking
the assistance of Chinese or Korean nuns in restoring the Bhikkhunii
Sa"ngha to Sri Lanka.

Fifth, if the venerable
Mahaanayakas, the leading bhikkhus of the Theravaadin
tradition in Sri Lanka, are not prepared to accept the authenticity of
the Bhikkhunii Sa"nghas in China and other Mahaayaana
countries, Sri Lankan Buddhist women are still free to seek ordination
in any Buddhist tradition they like.[31] Nuns fully ordained in other
traditions should be recognized as bhikkhunii without any
discrimination. Theravaadin leaders in Sri Lanka should not be
hasty to oppose such a move. The choice to renounce worldly life and
practice "the holy life" is the inalienable right of all
Buddhist women. No Buddhist can legitimately deny women this right.
Those who oppose women's right to obtain ordination within the Theravaadin
tradition cannot oppose their right to become bhikkhuniis in
another tradition. Gunapala Dharmasiri has stated that, since the
tradition of Vinaya ordination is fundamentally the same in Mahaayaana
and Theravaada, if an ordination lineage has been lost in one
tradition, it can be reinstated by borrowing from those countries where
it has been preserved.[32] The respected scholar Aananda Wellawatte
Thera holds a similar view.[33] For tradition to question the
validity of an ordination given by another established Buddhist
tradition is not reasonable or justified.

Sixth, a meeting may be
convened of a special body comprised of leading members of the
international Sa"ngha community, representing several
Buddhist traditions from all over the world. Sri Lankan candidates can
be given saamanarii and full bhikkhunii ordination by
this representative body. At present there are several international
Buddhist organizations of this type, including one recently established
in Colombo. Therefore, the convening of an international body of monks
and nuns would not be a difficult task.

The dasasilmaataas of Sri Lanka
have dedicated their lives to the Buddhist path as nuns in an age when
few are committed to spiritual values. Helping to promote their
aspirations would encourage them and would promote the welfare of
Buddhism as a whole. As Prof. Jotiya Dhirasekera has stated, Buddhism
has contributed much to the emancipation of women.[34] This contribution
has been impaired by the opposition of Theravaadin leaders in
Sri Lanka to the revival of the Bhikkhunii Sa"ngha. Some
Buddhist leaders proudly assert that from its inception Buddhism has
stood for the liberty of womankind. Their words are rendered idle coasts
in the face of their opposition to the revival of the Bhikkhunii
Sa"ngha. Revival of the traditional order of nuns can no
longer be delayed, for it constitutes a rejection of the fundamental
principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

[7] R. A. L. H. Gunawardana has given
evidence to prove the existence of Buddhist nuns in Burma at the time
when the Sri Lankan king was seeking the assistance or Burmese monks for
the revival of the Bhikkhu Sa"ngha in Sri Lanka. He says,
"Owing to the inadequacy of information bearing on this problem, it
is not possible to give a satisfactory explanation of their surprising
lack of clerical or lay interest in reviving the order of nuns."
Robe and Plough: Monasticism and Economic Interest in Early Medieval Sri
Lanka (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1979), p. 39.

[8] Chatsumam Kabilsingh, "The Role
of Woman in Buddhism," in Sakyadhita: Daughters of the Buddha
(Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications, 1989), pp. 225-35; "The
Future of the Bhikkhunii Sa"ngha in Thailand" in
Diana Eck, ed., Speaking of Faith: Global Perspectives on Women,
Religion, and Social Change (Philadelphia, Pa.: New Society Publishers,
1987), pp. 139-48; "Mae-Ji: A Religious Minority in
Contemporary Thailand," Sri Lanka Journal of Buddhist Studies,
11(1988):141-47.